The Jamaican superstar kicked-off his bid Saturday for the Olympic triple-triple when he clocked 10.07secs to win his opening heat ahead of Sunday's semi-finals and 100m showdown. After that the six times gold medallist will move on to the 200m and the 4x100m.

As he emerged onto the track into the sunlight the crowd went wild with their first glimpse of the man charged with putting some samba back into an Olympics which has so far failed to excite the locals. Beach volleyball and football aside.

Bolt and Brazil. What could be better? Even the sea of yellow shirts and flags must have made him feel at home as the sound of Bob Marley rang out around the Olympic Stadium, Bolt raising his arms to acknowledge the welcome.

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The race itself was by now standard fare in a heat for Bolt who eased out of the blocks before jogging over the line, a cursory glance to his left at Andrew Fisher who runs for Bahrain having been born in Jamaica and finished just behind him. Britain's James Dasolou had drawn the short straw with the lane next to Bolt but kept his cool, qualifying among the fastest losers in 10.18secs and joining team-mate CJ Ujah in the semis.

Bolt insisted: "I'm feeling good. I'm happy. I've got the first one out of the way and now it's all about execution and getting it right when it comes to the finals.

"There are a lot of guys running fast so there's going to be some stacked semifinals. It's good. It gets you running and gets you up to speed to go out there in the final."

Only one man is likely to stand between Bolt and history and that is his arch-rival Justin Gatlin. The two-time American drug cheat who Bolt famously beat to the 100m, 200m and 4x100m world crowns last summer.

Gatlin was the fastest qualifier Saturday winning his heat in 10.01secs, once again setting up the likelihood of a doper standing on top of the podium in a year when the sport has been rocked by the Russian drugs scandal. Seb Coe, the president of the IAAf, the sport's governing body, has already said that prospect makes him feel "queasy."

Gatlin, 34, who has posted the fastest time over the distance this year, said: "I know everyone's going to bring their A-game so I've got to make sure I'm ready. I'm feeling hungry.

"This is my third Olympics so I'm bringing the fun, care-free Justin Gatlin from 2004 and the honoured-to-be-here Justin Gatlin from 2012, kind of mixed together."

Gatlin's mere presence here, having avoided a lifetime ban, has even been criticised by a fellow member of Team USA - swimmer Lilly King who won 100m breaststoke gold in Rio - earlier this week.